Black Web Series and New Black TV

ORIGINAL: So I did a little bit of reporting and found some web series featuring all or mostly black casts! The full story is up at The Root:

“A small but growing number of filmmakers, producers and writers are looking to the Web to make black shows on their own terms. Over the last year, a bevy of new shows have come online about the lives of all kinds of black people: gay and lesbian, rich and poor. Sites that focus on publishing black independent Web shows are cropping up as well, including Rowdy Orbit and BBTV (Better Black TV). This month, BET.com will premiere its first original Web series, Buppies, starring Tatyana Ali, directed by up-and-coming director Julian Breece and produced by Ali and newcomer Aaliyah Williams.

No matter what kind of black show you had, nobody wanted it,”creator Julian Breece said of trying to pitch Buppies to the networks a few years ago. ‘A lot of black people flock to the Web for content …. This is the perfect space to explore black stories that you don’t have the change to do in traditional media.'”

Tatyana Ali stars and exec produces this new web show directed and created by new filmmaker Julian Breece

I’ll be publishing more on the web series listed below later, and the sites distributing them, so check back. I’m focusing — for the sake of my own sanity — on scripted, fictional (or mostly fictional) series. And please, if I missed your web series or one you like, please let me know. The more I know, the better (and I’ll be sure to update this post with shows I hear of).

**On Buppiesand the “lawsuit:” Earlier reports of a lawsuit between Tatyana Ali and filmmaker Julian Breece were superficially true, the director told be, but the case has been resolved. I judged from the tone of his voice that it was never really a big deal to begin with, all just a misunderstanding. This explains why BET never really took down its Buppies page, which always sort of confused me. Regardless, Buppies will probably be known as the newest major black web show, given the corporate backing of BET and sponsor CoverGirl. So it’s good they got this resolved!

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About The Author

Aymar Jean Christian is assistant professor of communication at Northwestern University. He writes about media and society for a number of publications. For more information, click the "About" tab at the top of the page.